Towel-holder



c. E. ERICKSON. TOWEL HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 3, 1920.

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TOWEL-HOLDER.

Application filed April 3, 1920.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, GLAUS E. ERIoKsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Des Moines, in the county of Polk and State of Iowa, have invented. certain new and useful Improvements in Towel-Holders; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a towel holding device which can be readily applied in any desired position.

The principal object is to provide a device of this character disposed to detachably support a towel and so constructed that downward pull upon the towel, which, under normal circumstances, would have a tendency to effect its disengagement with the holder will, on the contrary, act to cause the holder to more securely engage the towel.

A further object is to provide a device of this character wherein a towel may be readily attached to or detached therefrom, and which will be so constructed as to support the towel without injury thereto at its point of engagement with the towel.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which will be simple in construction and which will be adapted for use as an advertising novelty.

lVit-h these and other objects inv view, my invention will bemore fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and then specifically pointed out in the claims which are attached to and form a part of this application.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 represents a detail perspective view of my improved towel holder, showing the towel in engagement therewith, the towel being conventionally illustrated. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the arrangement of the movable element employed for engaging the towel. Fig. 3 represents a back view of the base plate.

Corresponding and like partsare referred to in the following description and inclicated in all the views of the drawing by the same reference characters.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a towel holder which may be readily Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan... 4, 1921.

Serial No. 370,917.

attached in any suitable position to support a towel at convenient location and to this end, I provide a base plate and engaging device, preferably of sheet metal and enameled, and which may be of any desired size. As shown, the base 10 may be caused to display indioia of any desired character such as advertising subject-matter.

Arranged upon the base 10, is a bracket indicated as a whole at 11., the said bracket including a head 12 having straight edges disposed to abut the adjacent face of the base and being preferably detachably secured to the base by a fastening device 12 at the top and by inwardly projecting ears or lugs 12" at the lower end of the head.

The base plate 10, preferably of sheet metal, is cut to approximately the oblong shape shown in the drawing and shaped in press dies to form a raised portion 10 around themarginal edges, such raised portion having gracefully rounded edges as shown. In the central part of the plate is formed an embossed. and raised portion 10 of curved graceful outline and having at the top a transverse slot (4, and a little lower down, on each side, the longitudinal slots 6, b. This embossed portion preferably extends from near the middle height of the plate to, or near the bottom of the raised portion 10, leaving a flat portion 10 above, on which may be printed advertising matter or any fanciful design. This makes the device quite useful and advantageous to manufacturing firms and corporations to give notice of their address and line of products to the public. In the upper part of this embossed portion is made a nearly circular opening 20, but having an inwardly projecting finger or claw 0. This finger or claw can be bent inward or outwardto permit insertion of a weighted movable element, as a ball 18 and then straightened out as shown, to prevent the ball from falling out. At top and bottom the base plate 10 is provided with ornamental extensions having eyes, 10, for receiving nails or screws to fasten the device in place to a wall or post.

Attached to the base over the embossed portion 10 is a pendent bracket arm 11, which serves as a housing for a weighted element, and in connection therewith a means for gripping a towel or other flexible article. This arm is preferably stamped up from a single blank piece of sheet metal,

but may be cast or otherwise produced and may be of any suitable material. The sheet metal blank for the arm is preferably made with an upper clenching prong 12 and with two lower prongs or lugs 12*, having inclined or curved lower ends and adapted to fit in the side slots 6. The arm 11 is preferably curved at its outer wall 13 from the head down to the terminal shoulder or stop 17, and has, below the head, side walls 15, forming between them a longitudinal channel or runway 1%. This channel extends up into the head 12 so as to provide a recess for the.ball 18 when a towel or other fabric is to be placed in the holder. The walls 15 are spaced at their 'free inner edges from the embossed portion 10", forming with the base the opening 22 and have at their upper portions the wide upwardly curved slots 21. The opening and slots permit the easy insertion and removal of the towel. By pressing a thumb and finger into the slots 21 the ball may be held up in the head whilea towel is being removed through the opening 22.

The bracket arm being constructed as above described is secured to the embossed portion 10 of the base by inserting the lugs 12 in the slots 5 and the prong 12 in the top slot (4 and bending down such prong upon the plate; the lugs 12 may also be bent down on the plate, but since their lower ends are inclined they will hold in their slots without being clenched. The bracket arm having been secured in place the ball 18 will be inserted through the opening 20 and the finger 0 then straightened to extend into the opening and prevent the ball from falling out of its channel. The device having been assembled as shown in Fig. 1, it is preferably enameled with a white material or composition and baked in a well known way. The raised portion 10? of the base plate forms the back of the runway for the ball 18 and makes a pleasing design in the article. The base 10 is designed to support the bracket 11 with the arm 13 thereof projecting downwardly so that the weighted element 18 will by gravity, normally hear between the shoulder 17 and the adjacent face of the base. To connect the towel with the holder, a portion thereof is passed beneath the arm 13 and between the weighted element 18 and the raised portion of the base, as illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the weighted element 18 being first moved upwardly within the channel 14 to disengage the shoulder 17 and permit the entrance of the towel. After the towel is thus connected with the holder, the weighted element 18 will, by gravity, return to its normal position to be engaged by the shoulder 17, which, owing to its inclination, will direct the weighted element 18 inwardly toward the base to engage the towel and firmly grip it in position. In this connection it is to be observed that downward pull upon the towel which, under normal circumstances, would tend to disengage the towel from the holder, will on the contrary, in the construction which I provide, cause the weighted element 18 to move upon the shoulder 17 to be consequently forced into more secure engagement with the towel, such downward pull upon the towel causing it, through its frictional engagement with the weighted element 18, to move the said element longitudinally upon the shoulder 17. To disengage the towel from the holder, it will be clear that the towel may be readily moved transversely of the base 10 beneath the weighted element to effect this result, or in the event this is not convenient, the weighted element 18 may be manually moved upwardly within the channel 14 out of engagement with the shoulder 17 to disengage the towel when the towel may be readily displaced. When the ball 18 is moved up into the head 12 it may be held therein by placing the extremities of a thumb and finger into the slots 21, and the towel then slipped out through the opening below the arm. It will therefore be seen that I provide a very simple and efficient construction of towel holder wherein the towel may be readily attached to or detached from the holder and wherein the weight of the towel itself as well as any downward pull upon the towel, will normally tend to bring the holder into more secure engagement therewith.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,

1. A device of the character described, comprising a base plate provided with an opening for insertion of a weighted element or ball, and a finger projecting into the opening, also having slots, a depending bracket arm having a hollow head over said opening and a longitudinal channel, the outer wall being curved downward and inclined inward and having a terminal end or engaging shoulder and having side walls spaced at their edges apart from the base plate to form an opening for insertion or removal of a towel and having a clenching prong and lugs for insertion in said slots, and a gravitating ball in the channel adapted to grip a towel below said inwardly inclined wall and terminal engaging shoulder.

2. A device of the character described, comprising a base-plate provided with an opening for insertion of a ball, and a pliable finger projecting into the opening, a depending bracket arm having a hollow head over said opening and a longitudinal channel, the outer wall of said arm being curved downward and inclined inward to a terminal engaging shoulder and having side walls spaced at their edges apart from the base plate to form an opening for insertion or removal of a towel, also having inclined slots extending from said opening into the side walls of the head to provide for inserting a thumb and finger to hold a retracted wall, and a gravitating ball in the channel adapt ed to grip a towel between it and said inclined Wall and terminal engaging shoulder, and means for attaching the bracket arm to the base plate. 10

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature.

CLAUS EDWARD ERICKSON. 

